tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78992225052869797702024-02-18T22:54:09.182-08:00Nights at the Chinchilla RescueAshley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.comBlogger968125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-48406788543587479362022-02-02T18:57:00.002-08:002022-02-02T18:57:23.363-08:00Beginnings on the Farm (Everything!)<p>So now that we have the chins here, now what? Well, this is our starting point, and here we go!</p><p>Some quick updates on a variety of things:</p><p>Chickens / turkeys -- we raised some over the winter, tried to add them to the flock... none made it. We decided in the future, we will only put chickens outside in the spring / summer, so they will have time to acclimate (over a longer period of time). So that said... we got two more turkeys and 5 polish chickens and are currently raising those (indoors). Also, in December, our chickens started laying their first eggs! How exciting! We are selling off excess eggs by the dozen and we hope that some chickens go broody and we hatch out some baby chicks at some point!</p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvrbKQOAZ5D3IS8uLPMi42QbHbrxxvaSaKp8FLSgq7mBMrT6otmRcnjLlVGzk9VPP27X9OLpodNU9OXC5bhmn9E7JLGAxZgaJ898_HSZVCThfiXmrkxpczEKU6a5HM3QM-yE9bInYhJB0Oh2kqkR9wPXBL_wLNgtRsva4cJJhlWiojN3DMuNrW-D62=s5128" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3940" data-original-width="5128" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvrbKQOAZ5D3IS8uLPMi42QbHbrxxvaSaKp8FLSgq7mBMrT6otmRcnjLlVGzk9VPP27X9OLpodNU9OXC5bhmn9E7JLGAxZgaJ898_HSZVCThfiXmrkxpczEKU6a5HM3QM-yE9bInYhJB0Oh2kqkR9wPXBL_wLNgtRsva4cJJhlWiojN3DMuNrW-D62=w429-h330" width="429" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two (of 5) baby polish chickens <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0o2esy14SyDmFk0htuYX7qPbvwpcfsKx7MzTUmFmwnZOdE4n6JTvNv5ucRbIBD_6WNuiX26HfTpk1fEmCScgEvJlzgeiLS0ekmNze5KTSOcnh4_w52YCg51oG-7gW3E18hqDf58xYoCB4pagGiBuXZaiuILrcrT2gifWYVl9RYNBJJJic2Cb_paWM=s3520" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3324" data-original-width="3520" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0o2esy14SyDmFk0htuYX7qPbvwpcfsKx7MzTUmFmwnZOdE4n6JTvNv5ucRbIBD_6WNuiX26HfTpk1fEmCScgEvJlzgeiLS0ekmNze5KTSOcnh4_w52YCg51oG-7gW3E18hqDf58xYoCB4pagGiBuXZaiuILrcrT2gifWYVl9RYNBJJJic2Cb_paWM=w439-h414" width="439" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our two white turklets!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>Goats -- we have two adult females -- Raven (black nigerian dwarf) and Ivy (caramel pygmy). We believe they are both bred -- Raven to Charlie (tricolor nigerian dwarf) and Ivy to Sebastian (buckskin? nigerian dwarf). If they are bred, we could potentially see kids as early as the next few months! Super excited about that possibility!</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUSwJW0-KIryxgdaART3fTutJlUzncCbs8as118ZVEECv46Q5BHMpGwk78hvfc8aTwpnu6k3EAHUsrmvN0BpTg4gbPq439uBd0GDARLuhJSZQR0vNIDAGeqMWV6k_WxgpxvzepZ42mi47LZURexI9LGE7P8QDrFen0IovXOeClrdT2YuN4_L_Y7D5d=s3104" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3104" data-original-width="3024" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUSwJW0-KIryxgdaART3fTutJlUzncCbs8as118ZVEECv46Q5BHMpGwk78hvfc8aTwpnu6k3EAHUsrmvN0BpTg4gbPq439uBd0GDARLuhJSZQR0vNIDAGeqMWV6k_WxgpxvzepZ42mi47LZURexI9LGE7P8QDrFen0IovXOeClrdT2YuN4_L_Y7D5d=w423-h434" width="423" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie (back) and Raven (front)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjroj_k481jRvnLTTPhCFr7Bi4qXoiJObBtGeCU4igoHxYnOMBcDhuHrin6_n_LUiaIMJvsQ9lme7_G1ZfVZlmcMX-BIX2Lcatre2FijkPENUUY2kLR5Ib72KM_J5HOTnPSF6yrUTcSALQikTGUxkfXiLrg3_c3jmnKRZ_vXGaGOoKy5J70Wm1SyA3=s2689" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2378" data-original-width="2689" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjroj_k481jRvnLTTPhCFr7Bi4qXoiJObBtGeCU4igoHxYnOMBcDhuHrin6_n_LUiaIMJvsQ9lme7_G1ZfVZlmcMX-BIX2Lcatre2FijkPENUUY2kLR5Ib72KM_J5HOTnPSF6yrUTcSALQikTGUxkfXiLrg3_c3jmnKRZ_vXGaGOoKy5J70Wm1SyA3=w423-h374" width="423" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivy</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3SLJqriMuEWEZXmq-1fy8Iwnq5pi7_OGNQ2WtR7UlpiK6bh5zvXJlfh0nGjrMqZlz-BLanGF-b7H_3oGrvAldal4Bz3y5GnruOCY5cbfTsADJkZO7M_z2BWJjER4YQbj7d49HIYwdOmbqxWxYZJuyjaVG71Q8Oo5cy243XYaYoCDo-dUuqYB_RPp5=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3SLJqriMuEWEZXmq-1fy8Iwnq5pi7_OGNQ2WtR7UlpiK6bh5zvXJlfh0nGjrMqZlz-BLanGF-b7H_3oGrvAldal4Bz3y5GnruOCY5cbfTsADJkZO7M_z2BWJjER4YQbj7d49HIYwdOmbqxWxYZJuyjaVG71Q8Oo5cy243XYaYoCDo-dUuqYB_RPp5=w363-h484" width="363" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sebastian</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Chinchillas -- they are having babies! We plan to expand our herd, as well as continue to show and provide some for sale, and babies are the way to do that! Just today, we found (I believe) 6 new babies! Super excited to see the future of the herd and how things pan out over the long run. We just weaned some babies last week and I'll attach a photo of the cutest little angora that is looking for a new home.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqL_4Y9iq2tDi7FfOgmCDMMAhm31Uxo-3dwBlK5lGbzN8bWOJ9X5TWTUBdFWIZEITreCIZA7iWbif6XIjeY5CIbdeVmkEO1EDPoOCkwCWry6quTUrhe1T633aEfU-RLC-9ORGyr8Y_5hwVDqgkXXcvmUX46S4nKQMB0_UjsZDX0lkuJ23m5jKa180A=s4070" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3965" data-original-width="4070" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqL_4Y9iq2tDi7FfOgmCDMMAhm31Uxo-3dwBlK5lGbzN8bWOJ9X5TWTUBdFWIZEITreCIZA7iWbif6XIjeY5CIbdeVmkEO1EDPoOCkwCWry6quTUrhe1T633aEfU-RLC-9ORGyr8Y_5hwVDqgkXXcvmUX46S4nKQMB0_UjsZDX0lkuJ23m5jKa180A=w378-h369" width="378" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-39408121102709728372022-01-27T07:00:00.017-08:002022-01-27T07:00:00.221-08:00Beginnings on the Farm (Chinchillas!)<p>Somewhere in all of this getting goats, we were working on getting ready to bring out chinchillas home. It wasn't until early December that we were able to get out to Ohio to bring our cages back. It took us a bit to set those up, and then some time to set up the water line. Still working out kinks with that, but hey, one thing at a time.</p><p>Next would be to bring back the chins! On December 15th, I loaded up every last carrier I could find, and packed up all my chinchillas from their boarding location...and brought them home! They haven't been home with me since about sometime in 2014/2015, pushing 7 years! Super exciting to have them home!</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoaZi9BaPYOT-ZIl7eFC4-m1Flpe7rA0iERxEuYOmasil1_ec7-RV2jfnyQYOiWt_-b9aidHHcvk-xSqlz6HZYd9NnV8IJKwEY-JieZ2TFKi3xjKbk78rBuHMcPes1uE8vL5gjtGJ3E8q85NXBbP7z_hM8Bx6lyqg54Hh1AAcWBC6tjpxQ3w61eu2u=s932" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="932" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoaZi9BaPYOT-ZIl7eFC4-m1Flpe7rA0iERxEuYOmasil1_ec7-RV2jfnyQYOiWt_-b9aidHHcvk-xSqlz6HZYd9NnV8IJKwEY-JieZ2TFKi3xjKbk78rBuHMcPes1uE8vL5gjtGJ3E8q85NXBbP7z_hM8Bx6lyqg54Hh1AAcWBC6tjpxQ3w61eu2u=w424-h297" width="424" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Even more exciting was that by the next morning, we had three new babies! They weren't breeding well for their "hosting breeder," but I believe in the following month after they arrived, we had 15-20 babies born! Great start to bringing the herd back!</p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-57437008655328285222022-01-25T07:00:00.055-08:002022-01-25T07:00:00.242-08:00Beginnings at the Farm (Goats)<p>The end of September was a busy time for us --</p><p>On the 24th, Mike proposed (I said yes, of course).</p><p>On the 25th, we went goat-shopping to celebrate and brought home two registered Nigerian Dwarf goats -- Charlie & Raven.</p><p>On the 26th, thanks to borrowed money, the furnace / AC unit / ductwork went into the chinchilla barn.</p><p>On the 27th, we had a moment to breathe.</p><p>On the 28th, we closed on the farmhouse! Who-hoo!!</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglqrUfO5fBQ3It9gbZQUcPGPyyOsCjs8QCXoPZKGSGcH87mf2Fim-xNP5nvUb4yxpdDAfLg9SG1paOuTqm24hnCyW2mhICy7F0hywF8Sru1JXvKAuC8ZCQg9f6hGL4NaxtMrsXZZxXACKUIyk6qzyCCKApK2Hm8tnRdavTKrfvMq-YIjXG4914gm4j=s3104" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3104" data-original-width="3024" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEglqrUfO5fBQ3It9gbZQUcPGPyyOsCjs8QCXoPZKGSGcH87mf2Fim-xNP5nvUb4yxpdDAfLg9SG1paOuTqm24hnCyW2mhICy7F0hywF8Sru1JXvKAuC8ZCQg9f6hGL4NaxtMrsXZZxXACKUIyk6qzyCCKApK2Hm8tnRdavTKrfvMq-YIjXG4914gm4j=w359-h368" width="359" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlie (back) and Raven (front)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>We added some additional goats, first an adult female pygmy goat (Ivy) and an adult Nigerian Dwarf male (Sebastian).</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFg3C0gzzVqAzab-sIPysIXwfIfktCbTqnfywtVXOGDiKpDdo73xjklku2y8_c0FsuenYHHO-jyd7F8kRRfqwWr0zsOlKfK9qb5e0qHqBHkZWvuMiVxuj8A6Fv91xYOCJy4FqUSRYa6bauJb9sZR3whoD0HZMbmCxGFmRZalnOlrxdUZXDmrId7ssc=s1108" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1108" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFg3C0gzzVqAzab-sIPysIXwfIfktCbTqnfywtVXOGDiKpDdo73xjklku2y8_c0FsuenYHHO-jyd7F8kRRfqwWr0zsOlKfK9qb5e0qHqBHkZWvuMiVxuj8A6Fv91xYOCJy4FqUSRYa6bauJb9sZR3whoD0HZMbmCxGFmRZalnOlrxdUZXDmrId7ssc=w394-h291" width="394" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivy<br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTlA-FfnLBeFFIxfUZVhx1UMjfu0QnQ93h9KE7Bq31y0aHdoiqZjbE74DBLASEt-jZbw4Na_s2fvoIQtBotZoKPg85xCh6QAwqbdYE5d4llXX2uRHw-EV-2GA-qKgw3KJv45zTFBCU9oLfDM8zOpwDUKMA_Ky1odTGaCa6R2o_KCNz2JzGf29gDMqt=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTlA-FfnLBeFFIxfUZVhx1UMjfu0QnQ93h9KE7Bq31y0aHdoiqZjbE74DBLASEt-jZbw4Na_s2fvoIQtBotZoKPg85xCh6QAwqbdYE5d4llXX2uRHw-EV-2GA-qKgw3KJv45zTFBCU9oLfDM8zOpwDUKMA_Ky1odTGaCa6R2o_KCNz2JzGf29gDMqt=w315-h420" width="315" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sebastian making a funny face<br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>We also added some younger ND's to the herd...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyHyP9uS5ioU6To3C6MK6baAnmWnEuuUAB_Pe2EvCrsZlQjoBwG-vCDzYu8xNyfwXHixQ_p2zK7OW5ZD8kGjdLumam1AWy5x8WceJUsbizUPXWZuHa75lZlPh08LLMNJrbd8unoziIeN0E_sUhn9DhAq-MLYoeM8XxY6-4pSEn-b2xHG5Ov12G0e_7=s640" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="640" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyHyP9uS5ioU6To3C6MK6baAnmWnEuuUAB_Pe2EvCrsZlQjoBwG-vCDzYu8xNyfwXHixQ_p2zK7OW5ZD8kGjdLumam1AWy5x8WceJUsbizUPXWZuHa75lZlPh08LLMNJrbd8unoziIeN0E_sUhn9DhAq-MLYoeM8XxY6-4pSEn-b2xHG5Ov12G0e_7=w361-h347" width="361" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">brother / sister buckling / doeling (brought home at 10 weeks)<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYxBWCy1DhmqrjFBZDKEKUFb3Rj-gqOco_2e0ArYhKD8jChJZr8Crf4gm4ou-VjRuQHHw1AtcmIrTtoqRMz3KQqinXdPVlhKSXaFkpixtgNOwpLlNRHzr_cJlbc_1idlmzwvEeVrDpUkyt3_7UKSUEp0a4JYJ0ZUwfhP1VlmFG_EtBkPDsQffrjF3A=s3024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3024" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYxBWCy1DhmqrjFBZDKEKUFb3Rj-gqOco_2e0ArYhKD8jChJZr8Crf4gm4ou-VjRuQHHw1AtcmIrTtoqRMz3KQqinXdPVlhKSXaFkpixtgNOwpLlNRHzr_cJlbc_1idlmzwvEeVrDpUkyt3_7UKSUEp0a4JYJ0ZUwfhP1VlmFG_EtBkPDsQffrjF3A=w444-h440" width="444" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">four half-sister doelings brought home at 3-4 months</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>So now we're up to an awful lot of chickens / turkeys and 10 goats!</p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-58836383494422644602022-01-23T07:00:00.001-08:002022-01-23T07:00:00.205-08:00Beginnings At The Farm (Chickens)<p>So we moved into the farm in the summer, June / July 2021. It wasn't long before we got ourselves some chickens and learned all about "chicken math." Mike has a friend who has some turkeys, and after meeting the turkeys, we decided that we wanted some of those as well. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivTr9iE1dtibiMBD3no8lQv9xcCYtv3hEIKHF0c9G-DH2KqXQzUclCqjGEq7ehgCFz8FLA_9SzA0psP34NHnODVmT7AySA5oVOKHHk_06yI-TFWZCNdF8OyZY0LcVNZyzsE6eOzV1AXEwP6qA08BZ2ZU2fjafE4VPgY5zJToYTjohN-2wgWefN7hFX=s1024" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="410" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivTr9iE1dtibiMBD3no8lQv9xcCYtv3hEIKHF0c9G-DH2KqXQzUclCqjGEq7ehgCFz8FLA_9SzA0psP34NHnODVmT7AySA5oVOKHHk_06yI-TFWZCNdF8OyZY0LcVNZyzsE6eOzV1AXEwP6qA08BZ2ZU2fjafE4VPgY5zJToYTjohN-2wgWefN7hFX=w230-h576" width="230" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>We originally started building a coop outside, and quickly learned that wasn't the way to go. Our new coop (which is now almost complete, and is being used as we speak) is inside the barn barn (technically a huge multi-section lean-to) and is all nice and fancy for our feathered friends. We've had pretty decent luck with the chickens and turkeys, and have only lost a few to acclimation issues and a few to predators. Hopefully those numbers stay low, as we like our feathered friends! Our chickens just recently started laying eggs (late Dec 2021) and we hope the turk turks are soon to follow.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTBoWD5aTIw7GLVCitiCiL3Ij9uaZIdlwsPvi0zprQxkmPW71EfD5T-lYB1lFcZfuqoryVvJAX2bBtj2g3LLUO2pl_-IbO02MTI5j4WbvIcL1UE_JdximewtkEVLCqLd-1-j6AaEMvw3MG_VYkwhkMo4Xy-v1ZggxYpPdm5532RgePqJ0QrjQd4cu3=s2016" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTBoWD5aTIw7GLVCitiCiL3Ij9uaZIdlwsPvi0zprQxkmPW71EfD5T-lYB1lFcZfuqoryVvJAX2bBtj2g3LLUO2pl_-IbO02MTI5j4WbvIcL1UE_JdximewtkEVLCqLd-1-j6AaEMvw3MG_VYkwhkMo4Xy-v1ZggxYpPdm5532RgePqJ0QrjQd4cu3=w411-h308" width="411" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike and I at Rural King with our first chick!</td></tr></tbody></table>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-66208156670630765652022-01-21T07:00:00.050-08:002022-01-21T07:00:00.201-08:00Moving on from the Zoning Board Meeting<p>So, knowing that there wasn't a chance to keep the chin business / rescue in Chesterton, we started looking for new places to move. The 1+ acre in Chesterton wasn't right, so the next place, we literally talked about -- the neighbors better be cornfields!</p><p>All work stopped on the barn, and we got deposits back on a handful of things, but unfortunately, much of the money -- about $50,000 -- had already been spent on what was already done.</p><p>We stopped taking in rescues and worked on rehoming the chins that we had.</p><p>...and as there's never a dull moment in the chin world, there was some issues with our boarding situation for where our chins were at Jim's, and we had a bit of a falling out, so the chins needed to be moved to board elsewhere, like ASAP. This was about April/May 2021.</p><p>Thankfully, we were able to find another breeder, a tad closer to home this time, that could take them in and board them for a bit. We took them there in three trips.</p><p>Around this same time, we stumbled on a great farm property a few miles outside the farm town of Wolcott, Indiana. We went to look at it, and put in an offer right away. One of the barns on the property was perfect! It would only have been more perfect if the barn had already been heated and cooled, but heck, it had running water, cement floor, and some insulation, so something better than nothing!</p><p>Getting the Wolcott property would be a feat in itself. From the day we first saw the property, it took 2 days short of 6 months to close.</p><p>First, we were a week short of closing, when I got a text from our lender asking for me to call her. Turns out, they couldn't do agricultural loans, and we had to start the whole process again, with another lender. So, we do. Fast forward to almost being ready to close again, and we found out, the seller had not finished parceling the land (there were two parcels available, 2.76 acres with the house and barns and another 8.88ish acres of farmable land -- at the time, we were to the 2.76 acres and plan to somehow get the rest at a later date). Part of the terms of the agreement was that the seller would have 30 days possession of the house and 90 days possession of the barns after closing. We asked about this being negotiable due to me needing to sell my house, and he said he would see what he could do about the 30 days for the house. Long story short, he moves his tenant (from the house). Well, then, when closing isn't happening, he wanted us to put down money amounting to $2500. He said he would refund $1250 at closing (if it closed) and that this would cover his lost income from rent. I was so mad about this, I actually told our real estate agent to tell the seller, that if he wanted us paying rent, then I wanted to move in. That turned out to be a great idea, because he agreed that if appraisal came back good, we could. So, we moved into the house about 3 months prior to owning it. </p><p>The seller's meeting for parceling came and went... it was denied for seemingly stupid reasons... so we ended up adding the other acreage to the loan, so now it is a total of 11.5 acres, give or take. Finally, we closed on 9/28/2021.</p><p>Here is the building that will be the new chin barn --</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii7_Q3nr1F6nj8tIOsvczJhMHQ9KbVjMyXQeSDIn3DnX4iTVpO3PDeI_rGMCxdylVhHOGROZ_quM_0yEknnaVCArcNXv5fqTdVthwfYDXj_GEvU_AKZ2dYM6XRkLAgGJXtJ1HhzOvTK8U_Cofq850ZmnIcGyVk5PvGmyYBkq7yfx5V1pu4PHkH-j9I=s1241" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1241" data-original-width="1000" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii7_Q3nr1F6nj8tIOsvczJhMHQ9KbVjMyXQeSDIn3DnX4iTVpO3PDeI_rGMCxdylVhHOGROZ_quM_0yEknnaVCArcNXv5fqTdVthwfYDXj_GEvU_AKZ2dYM6XRkLAgGJXtJ1HhzOvTK8U_Cofq850ZmnIcGyVk5PvGmyYBkq7yfx5V1pu4PHkH-j9I=w330-h397" width="330" /></a></div>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-72775324090628260202022-01-19T07:00:00.065-08:002022-01-19T07:00:00.202-08:00What Happened to Chesterton? (part 2)<p> ...realistically, nothing much happened to the chin business, we just switched gears a bit.</p><p>Rather than setting out orders for pickup, we started hoofing them to the post office. No one can see boxes set out for pickup if they're not set out for pickup!</p><p>Rather than having people come to the house for chinchillas, we started meeting people at the local grocery store. It was about 5-10 mins away depending on traffic, so I started giving customers that address, and asking customers to text me when they were about 5-10 minutes away, so I knew when to leave. While of course this was more effort than meeting people at the house, this worked well enough.</p><p>We had one major learning curve, right at the beginning of doing all of this. At the very beginning, I was packing the chinchilla up in the carrier at my house, then simply handing the adopter the chinchilla (in carrier) and their take home bag at the pickup spot. In case you haven't seen our carriers, they are cardboard pet carriers with round pre-punched dime-sized airholes, similar to what you might get when buying a small animal from a pet store. You cannot see the chinchilla through the carrier,.</p><p>So for the one appointment, the appointment was set at 3 pm. At 2:15, I get a text that says "I'm here!" I wasn't even *home* as I expected to have still quite a bit of time before that appointment, so I rush home, put the chin in a carrier, rush back. Now I normally would give the chinchilla a quick once-over before putting it in the box, but I didn't want to make her wait any longer than she already was going to, so I hurried and grabbed him out of his cage and put him in the carrier. Later, I would learn what a mistake this was going to be.</p><p>So I get to the meeting place and hand off the carrier and take home bag. Immediately the new owner says she's going to open the box. Knowing this chin tends to be one of the bouncier ones, and not wanting the chin to get away from the new owner, I tell the owner that she should get in the car, close the doors, and then open the box. So she does. I sit there for a minute or two and I see them peering in the box and then I drive away.</p><p>Maybe 20 minutes later I get a text asking about some fur loss on the chinchilla's nose. From the picture, one of two things are possible. Either (1) the chinchilla repeatedly stuck its nose in and out one of the circular "air holes" in the box, irritating / rubbing the fur or (2) the chinchilla developed fungus on the nose. I told her these were the possibilities, and hold her that I would suggest she treat for fungus, because even if it wasn't fungus, it wouldn't hurt anything. Tell her how to do so, she seems fine with it, and I thought that was the end of it,</p><p>Stupid me.</p><p>Couple days later, I get a phone call. Owner of the fungus chin -- she is absolutely bawling, thinks the chin is going to die, and tells me she is rushing him to the vet. For what? Oh, well, some breeder-hating-chin-group on facebook (that already told them they hate me, by the way), told her that fungus KILLS (ah-hahahahahahaahhaha no) and they can't believe how I made no big deal out of it and yadda yadda yadda. She goes to the vet, calls me up.... Then tells me, that I need to (1) refund her for the chin, (2) let her keep the chin, and (3) pay her vet bills, or she's going to sue me. I told her, I am happy to refund her for the chin if she returns it, and she's like, "oh, well, yeah, AFTER I paid to treat it." No, honey, I could have treated it myself at home, but by all means, pat yourself on the back for spending $$$ to treat it at the vet.</p><p>I told her, it's in the health guarantee that if she thought the chin was sick she could return. She claims I didn't tell her about that. My health guarantee and sales policy are on my website -- unfortunately, I cannot make people read them, but they are there for those that want to.</p><p>So she goes and posts on this chin group about how horrible I am. She writes a negative review on my facebook page. She mentions that I tried to hide that the chin was sick by telling her to not open the carrier until she was in her car, and then I immediately sped away. Not what happened, but ok.</p><p>Let's fast forward a week... she's now posting that she, her cat, and her dog all have fungus. Hold on...let's back up for a second. I've had times where there's a major fungal outbreak and I've had 20 chins that have had fungus... and I have NOT, and neither have any other animals in my care. How does one chin with fungus infect every human and every animal in the house? Oh yeah, due to poor hygiene. But yes, by all means, blame me.</p><p>Oh, let's not forget, she called code enforcement and she called animal control. So I got a nice visit from animal control, who found nothing wrong with ANY of the animals in my care (not even another one with fungus!). They told me that she informed them that I was selling "decaying" animals (in their own words, "it's ringworm, so what? super common") and they said my animals looked so clean! Not even the cages, the animals themselves. I ended up writing a Freedom of Information Act letter to get their report, so if she ever did decide to sue me, I would have that to back up that I am not breeding animals in bad conditions and whatever else she was accusing me of. She basically was saying that that animal I sold her was one of *many* sick ones and I was scamming everyone with pics of healthy ones and then actually doling out sick animals...not quite.</p><p>This all ended well enough... (1) animal control found no issue with my animals, simply said "you know this is a zoning issue? (yes) ok, well, we have no problem with you, the animals are cared for well", (2) zoning honestly wasn't sure what to do with the whole thing because chinchillas aren't mentioned in the county ordinances so they weren't messing further with it, and (3) the girl never did sue me.</p><p>So here's what we learned ---> all future chinchillas / animals that we brought to that grocery store parking lot were brought in an all-wire carrier, so the new owner could physically see them prior to them going into their take-home carrier. Also, all future animals were eyeballed <i>to death</i> to be sure they didn't have so much as one hair out of place that someone could later complain about.</p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-70705710110539523012022-01-17T07:00:00.057-08:002022-01-17T07:00:00.203-08:00What Happened to Chesterton? (part 1)<p>In looking back, I realize that my last post that talked about our location... specifically mentioned how great Chesterton was. That sentiment was very short lived, as, well, I no longer live there.</p><p>So what happened to Chesterton? Well, let me tell you.</p><p>If you're on our facebook page, you probably know much of this already as a lot of this has been posted there, as this all was going on.</p><p>So, at Chesterton, the barn was being worked on, albeit slowly, due to the order of things needing to be done and the schedules of all of the contractors. This was right about Christmas time 2020. So with the barn being on hold at the time, we ended up putting a small room in the basement, so we could move the chins in there, temporarily. With the chins there, appointments started up again.</p><p>One such appointment went to the wrong house. I found this out when the person arrived, as they had this story to tell me about how they went to the wrong house, said they were there to see the chinchilla lady, were told they had the wrong house... but the guy knew which house it was, and was driving past there, so they should follow him and he would point it out. This seemed innocent enough at the time, helpful neighbor, cool.</p><p>...until I got a call from code enforcement which said that it was reported that I have / breed chinchillas and that I'm running a business out of the house. The guy at code enforcement was actually very helpful, and explained to me that I might be able to continue doing what I was doing, if I applied for (and was granted) a use variance.</p><p>So I looked into how to do that, got the form to fill out. We spent days on end filling out this paperwork, as every question practically required an essay type answer. The cost of applying for this use variance was $425. Once the application was accepted, we then had to send out certified return receipt mailings to everyone within 500 feet of the property lines. Since the property was over an acre, that amounted to 30-something people, to the tune of almost another $300. This was to alert all the people nearby that there would be a zoning meeting where we would be petitioning for the county to basically let us run out business out of our home. A sign was also put in the yard, for the same purpose.</p><p>Prior to the meeting, it was specified that people who wanted to speak in this case could write letters for or against. We learned who these letters should be sent to, and put out notices on facebook and our website, in case anyone wanted to either come to the meeting or write in for us. A good handful or two of people did write in letters to the zoning board.</p><p>The day came for the zoning meeting. Mike and I went over there to petition our case. I was the petitioner, Mike was there speaking "for" me, and the other 20-odd people? Yeah, they were all speaking out "against" us. They didn't want the increased traffic, increased strangers, they didn't want their residential zone turned into someplace someone would have a home business. It didn't matter how much I (or the letters) mentioned that there's very few people here in a given week, that it's not busy, that literally -- you wouldn't know there's a business if someone didn't tell you -- they still said, nope, too many strangers, too many this, too much that. The sad thing too, was that none of my actual, like next door neighbors, had any issue... it was all people down the block and people living on the street behind me that caused issues. Looking back, we've come up with the idea that there was a ringleader who gathered everyone up... as basically, all those people on the street behind me? Yeah, there was no way they ALL would have shown up for the meeting, and they ALL did.</p><p>We also learned at the meeting... my property was zoned R1 - rural residential (that we knew). I had looked this up, prior to moving there, and one of the "permitted uses" was "breeding and raising of farm and exotic animals." So, when I was asked by the zoning board, "what gave me the idea that I could do this?" I brought this up. Well, turns out, part of their ordinances are under review, so while it is not currently "find-able" (for lack of a better word) anywhere in the current ordinances, property owners are restricted to having no more than four animals total. It doesn't matter if you live on 1/10 of an acre or 20 acres, you are allowed four animals. Doesn't matter if it's four cows or four pet fish. Four total. Now, how you are supposed to breed / raise any type of animal with only owning four, I'm not sure, but that exited out staying there for any period of time.<br /></p><p>They also asked about my packages, as a board member had apparently driven by one day when I had packages outside for a package pickup. I told them, these were for items that I sold online. They then told me that I needed a business license for that, and I could reapply for a separate one for just that. I told them, I've never needed one for something like that (where you're mailing things out and customers don't actually come to the home) and they basically said, "well, here you do... here, anyone selling anything on facebook or craigslist should have a business license." Yeah, ok.</p><p>So, the zoning petition was denied, and that meant everything should shut down as far as the chinchilla business. </p><p>....to be continued </p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-15536972598694052282022-01-15T19:56:00.000-08:002022-01-15T19:56:00.931-08:00It's Been Awhile...<p>So it's been forever and a day since I wrote, now that I look at the date... from November 2020, to today, January 15, 2022... a little over a year since I was on here typing a blog like this. A lot has changed, but before I get into that, let me start you off with a funny little story from last week...</p><p>So at the farm, I'm still not used to when things are open / closed, how long things to order / come in, and so on and so forth. </p><p>So, the last time I was picking up an order at the feed mill (which is conveniently 3 miles down the same street that we live on), I asked if they would be able to order in a few other things. You see, while they are a feed mill, they mill mostly larger animal feed, but can order in a variety of stuff. Somewhere in there, they had called me back, said that they *could* get the items I was looking for, and quoted a price. I had told them how much I wanted to order, and they said they would call when it came in.</p><p>So a couple days later, I'm in the middle of some chin-related task, and I get a call from the feed mill -- hey, your order is in. Now, they always ask when you're going to come get it, so they know whether they should leave it easily accessible (if you're coming today), or if they can bury it (if you're not coming for a week). So, knowing they ask this, I ask what their hours are that day and they tell me they'll be open until 5, but if I don't make it (that whopping 3 miles, you know...), they're also open the following day (Saturday) from 9-12.</p><p>So I make a mental note that I'm going to the feed mill later and resume my day... until like 7 pm when I realize, op! never went to the feed mill *facepalm*</p><p>So, following morning, I am heading out to the barn and the phone rings -- a fellow chin breeder calling about chin stuff. We're talking about treatment for ringworm and I mention that I have had a difficult time finding this one product, so she suggests for me to ask the feed store....</p><p>...and you know there's that momentary pause before it clicks in my head -- I NEVER WENT TO THE FEED MILL!!</p><p>I look at the clock, it is 11:40 am, and they close at 12. Never in my life has it been so convenient that I live 3 miles down the road, so I got my car keys, hopped in the van, and made it there with 7 minutes to spare. </p><p>I don't even think we started loading (due to having to go inside to pay, then pull the van around, then clear room in the van) until after noon... thankfully this is a feed mill in a small town!</p><p>Next time, I will remember better. I hope.</p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-41331350551059823572020-11-06T15:20:00.001-08:002020-11-06T15:20:02.519-08:00Shameless Plug for the Boyfriend's Creations <p>Now, I know some of you have caught on that I finally snagged a boyfriend. He's cool, if you come by my place you may meet him someday...</p><p><br /></p><p>When I first met him, he mentioned he really doesn't like critters... but that said... he now has started making squirrel / wildlife feeders, and you gotta admit, these are ADORABLE.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0S1Vb3fqF8qEQL9bzqXNjbxS_-I1MN4YPA3LUZqTKgqQ53JK-1DyEIl9kFiKQs-fvtckC5jazwDPmW14tWq6Ssw9GaIVntU-tQdbiSGVeGZwOiHXdx3YMxAwKokHsjdWIhhanL7whVs/s2061/DSC_0038+-+EDITED.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1815" data-original-width="2061" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0S1Vb3fqF8qEQL9bzqXNjbxS_-I1MN4YPA3LUZqTKgqQ53JK-1DyEIl9kFiKQs-fvtckC5jazwDPmW14tWq6Ssw9GaIVntU-tQdbiSGVeGZwOiHXdx3YMxAwKokHsjdWIhhanL7whVs/w369-h325/DSC_0038+-+EDITED.JPG" width="369" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feasting in the Forest</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD1tnjIONWH_5MBqdSWaC0tHf959gHbW_Na9epuR2x2LBQ7Y4UalX0DOww0xW24JtxNRid8A5C1Sf5w2Gg0fyp2PyDoYbAyPnk4_fnjryHnKJuWfzdoAbrl0hyzaGpXIv5K8nFqYSnxWU/s3417/DSC_0044+--+EDITED.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3417" data-original-width="2606" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD1tnjIONWH_5MBqdSWaC0tHf959gHbW_Na9epuR2x2LBQ7Y4UalX0DOww0xW24JtxNRid8A5C1Sf5w2Gg0fyp2PyDoYbAyPnk4_fnjryHnKJuWfzdoAbrl0hyzaGpXIv5K8nFqYSnxWU/w372-h488/DSC_0044+--+EDITED.JPG" width="372" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patio Zen<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGXLjr25XX0VAI4e0Rd9v67W0PYwv2rZNsY_4xFTFeNSNkxyKUGSTSTTyJnteVfThveePFiTufh2VnekbqEp4Q6L8_Ht-skvdk-KXpPOKoIEEjA5rtlsr_ZnYSG7t6rFomRkydKLdtkA/s3607/DSC_0029+--+EDITED.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3032" data-original-width="3607" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGXLjr25XX0VAI4e0Rd9v67W0PYwv2rZNsY_4xFTFeNSNkxyKUGSTSTTyJnteVfThveePFiTufh2VnekbqEp4Q6L8_Ht-skvdk-KXpPOKoIEEjA5rtlsr_ZnYSG7t6rFomRkydKLdtkA/w389-h327/DSC_0029+--+EDITED.JPG" width="389" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picnic in the Park</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div>Mike (the boyfriend) has his own Etsy shop, <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/CustomCritterFeeders/" target="_blank">Custom Critter Feeders</a>, where you can purchase these and get them shipped to you, or alternatively, they can be picked up in Portage, Indiana. They are available for $15-20 natural, or $25-30 stained / painted. Normally, you just get the feeding station itself, no corn, and no squirrel included (sorry, I know you wanted the squirrel, heaven knows I do...)... BUT if you mention that you saw the squirrel feeders here (on this blog), we will throw in a free ear of squirrel corn for you (must mention Free Corn Through the Blog Posting).</div>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-87672156830479948722020-11-04T14:40:00.017-08:002020-11-04T14:40:01.283-08:00Items Back in Stock<p> So, if you've been following along, you've seen in the one recent post where I talked about making more items available again. I may have mentioned this one part already, but our muncher's delight toy is back available, as are our fleece tubes...</p><p><br /></p><p>...but even better since then, is that our fleece tubes are available on both Etsy and on our website.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also now available are some fleece tube covers, as well as fleece hanging houses. Are you excited??? Cause I'm excited!!</p><p><br /></p><p>Fleece hanging houses --> <a href="https://www.nwichinchillas.com/apps/webstore/products/category/1600234?page=1" target="_blank">here</a></p><p>Fleece tubes and fleece tube covers --> <a href="https://www.nwichinchillas.com/apps/webstore/products/category/1592687?page=1" target="_blank">here</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I also bought a hole saw kit. In case you missed it (and you all may have, as I'm not sure whether or not I posted it), I brought my drill press back to NWI back a couple months ago. Well, it's at the house, and I finally ordered a chuck for it, so that I can change what's attached to the drill press. Currently attached is the 4.25" hole saw, which cuts the large holes for the houses as well as the holes in the hammock shelves and whatnot. But the NEW news, is that I bought a hole saw kit, with multiple sizes in it, so I can again begin to cut the houses, tunnels, and more fun stuff like that. I haven't done anything with it yet, haven't yet opened it even, but I have it, so one of these days.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also hopefully soon coming back are... goodie bags!</p><p><br /></p><p>One thing that will take a bit longer is chinchilla dust. You see, the only place I can obtain that is from in Ohio, and until I take a trip there, it's not worth it for me to just go and get dust. Sorry... but really not sorry. It just is what is is right now.</p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-74018523907411343112020-11-02T14:12:00.001-08:002020-11-02T14:12:01.314-08:00Guinea Pig Update!<p> So, let's talk guinea pigs.</p><p><br /></p><p>The one female guinea pig that we had available -- Valerie -- was adopted on Friday. She went to a great home where she lives in the little boy's room (well, he's not so little) with three new guinea pig sisters. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here is Valerie:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfZi2-OOzp3-BfVKKd9xrooTNwYsoPnv0QeuUb-1dgeh8HPt5Xq2iBouftiCRytM9EzodFiqDCazQbfcXNG7AroOXVz6Y5HIRBiHdWWV6QJbsG12F4TQS69Ylsz11Tffrp67GDBXELKo/s2048/IMG_4040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1474" data-original-width="2048" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfZi2-OOzp3-BfVKKd9xrooTNwYsoPnv0QeuUb-1dgeh8HPt5Xq2iBouftiCRytM9EzodFiqDCazQbfcXNG7AroOXVz6Y5HIRBiHdWWV6QJbsG12F4TQS69Ylsz11Tffrp67GDBXELKo/w408-h293/IMG_4040.jpg" width="408" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>And here she is with her new guinea pig family:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72eSRClj9m3VFRelJTSiJvEav06q82qsoBBxzN80lj2UrAzHSAEUIwbxlF8fOa-su_h1-yltQ_UoEi4RZTVxYMsO5fiPoNzyB4CetsTauF6f5zfNNnwslnTsa2XdE-T9YADKDa5BxNCY/s1600/IMG_4104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj72eSRClj9m3VFRelJTSiJvEav06q82qsoBBxzN80lj2UrAzHSAEUIwbxlF8fOa-su_h1-yltQ_UoEi4RZTVxYMsO5fiPoNzyB4CetsTauF6f5zfNNnwslnTsa2XdE-T9YADKDa5BxNCY/w411-h308/IMG_4104.JPG" width="411" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbHbg60zjhy8PHC6GybycVESoFdmzkY4Ns-qkDSEuqfLviHTeMMSUDB93g4DpPwjjyBXGMoBOzygiLf7uNN_qTpB8tUIAH6dIQG5hhBBrPrFvGdJaYFSgNFwnGGQTh2gJZaW4MINadOk/s1200/IMG_4105.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="808" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbHbg60zjhy8PHC6GybycVESoFdmzkY4Ns-qkDSEuqfLviHTeMMSUDB93g4DpPwjjyBXGMoBOzygiLf7uNN_qTpB8tUIAH6dIQG5hhBBrPrFvGdJaYFSgNFwnGGQTh2gJZaW4MINadOk/w277-h412/IMG_4105.JPG" width="277" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH62b7qWHcsd5fLCEkWrr1tBwPdMEc8kE_rkLnD7kEdTEcdZHt4p5SvKkOMCAZIz9T0FAaE3m5q_3u1necFhUoXtOIXh8WwVJYmemfYILM7Uhr0QbeBC5v5vnFZCiLFeY6brg6gBraJeo/s1600/IMG_4106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH62b7qWHcsd5fLCEkWrr1tBwPdMEc8kE_rkLnD7kEdTEcdZHt4p5SvKkOMCAZIz9T0FAaE3m5q_3u1necFhUoXtOIXh8WwVJYmemfYILM7Uhr0QbeBC5v5vnFZCiLFeY6brg6gBraJeo/w410-h308/IMG_4106.JPG" width="410" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBI6s04p6KMXq7atHAFG_WMbo2RzfFFeYRuxipaqj1hOuzvNBiMwGCxcWH3UoccRhDdMCfcOTfGV7hw4gKvSyc8ryl5G0EQtHECQ6p9EcRkto7-joKdjIFaDhOzLCbcxi-3NAB4dWKwI/s1200/IMG_4107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="485" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpBI6s04p6KMXq7atHAFG_WMbo2RzfFFeYRuxipaqj1hOuzvNBiMwGCxcWH3UoccRhDdMCfcOTfGV7hw4gKvSyc8ryl5G0EQtHECQ6p9EcRkto7-joKdjIFaDhOzLCbcxi-3NAB4dWKwI/w364-h485/IMG_4107.JPG" width="364" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>So, Valerie is happy in her new home. However... we have other guinea pigs available! So if you're looking, don't go too far!<div><br /></div><div>We also have Rocky & Reno! These are a father / son pair of guinea pigs. They are American / Abyssinian / Teddy mixes and are very sweet! Dad is about a year old, son was born June.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7kyleZVbjSotXp7vazYhuIzDkaxWZ6SMl_nVTQlkLgnjgpWPb-CTQ63yfZxnOhbXPr3H6MUylg1Qk1Eu-nLEFjARG-_spE12nm4o0v9nJImtOQt0i-znuYCEgQnKNxKgaJijJGez82o/s1940/IMG_3864.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1940" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7kyleZVbjSotXp7vazYhuIzDkaxWZ6SMl_nVTQlkLgnjgpWPb-CTQ63yfZxnOhbXPr3H6MUylg1Qk1Eu-nLEFjARG-_spE12nm4o0v9nJImtOQt0i-znuYCEgQnKNxKgaJijJGez82o/w498-h266/IMG_3864.jpg" width="498" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And we have Williard! Williard was born 7/30 and is also looking for a new home!</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2F0zO2y8yVX5gvJyqWUe5LNmj6hQBnTkXoEnZl4rzSnQJpkPZkJwt2r3iFzHrwqHCOHg7C8J_0PfvjZJwh8eGcK-a7sCVBAPtPF9tUnxeUsvoBXgXn3WNYEr-bsdIJTzcUgtSDKqPwU/s1704/IMG_4073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1563" data-original-width="1704" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ2F0zO2y8yVX5gvJyqWUe5LNmj6hQBnTkXoEnZl4rzSnQJpkPZkJwt2r3iFzHrwqHCOHg7C8J_0PfvjZJwh8eGcK-a7sCVBAPtPF9tUnxeUsvoBXgXn3WNYEr-bsdIJTzcUgtSDKqPwU/w402-h369/IMG_4073.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBCCzChzdnhpvbJTgj8_siSXth_r9V6LfuMu0kdgfgx-nv5fBhQiGL1c9dhYf0Nx4oOU2utNCv8DLf6HuHvWs3joyzV5fDTcY3RO9TsWReTyZAyJPuUznVswR3SlIa18R406weMRwLJA/s2048/IMG_4069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="2048" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBCCzChzdnhpvbJTgj8_siSXth_r9V6LfuMu0kdgfgx-nv5fBhQiGL1c9dhYf0Nx4oOU2utNCv8DLf6HuHvWs3joyzV5fDTcY3RO9TsWReTyZAyJPuUznVswR3SlIa18R406weMRwLJA/w432-h286/IMG_4069.jpg" width="432" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you'd like to adopt any of these cuties, go to our website, read the care packet and fill out the adoption form! Here --> <a href="https://www.nwichinchillas.com/guinea-pig-documents" target="_blank">https://www.nwichinchillas.com/guinea-pig-documents</a></div></blockquote>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-27174751670110179582020-10-30T07:21:00.002-07:002020-10-30T07:26:18.914-07:00What's Going On Now -- October 30, 2020<p> So, I know it's been forever since I've written anything, my bad, I know. To be honest, while I can tell you about what has gone on with my life, not a ton has changed on the NWI Chins front.</p><p><br /></p><p>The last time I wrote was at the beginning of September, and many things have changed since then. To start with, if you've followed along on facebook, you saw that I did close on my Hammond house, and moved to Chesterton. </p><p><br /></p><p>Chesterton has been great. The neighbors that I have met (well, the one neighbor that I have met, 40000 times, you know who you are!) have been nice and friendly. Two houses down, the people have free range chickens which occasionally make it onto my next door neighbor's yard, so I get to oggle the cute chickens and say, "oooh look at the chickens!!!"(something I DEFINITELY could not have done in Hammond). This has spurred fun conversations about putting trails of chicken scratch into my yard so they come closer this way, so I can oggle from less of a distance. The neighors behind me aren't assholes about the dogs -- in fact, they have their own crew of three dogs -- looks like a shepherd, a lab, and a something -- who also bark all the time. Nothing I've left outside has walked out of my yard as of yet.</p><p><br /></p><p>It's just good all around.</p><p><br /></p><p>The reason I haven't written much is, there's not much going on with the rescue front (and I'm sure most of you aren't all that interested in my personal life). The property has a pole barn, which I believe I mentioned earlier... which needs plumbing, cement, HVAC, and electrical work done before I can bring the chins (or any animals) back into the place. I've had the place about a month now, and as of yet, nothing has been started yet. Apparently it's the end of season, and every place is busy... go figure.</p><p><br /></p><p>Minor things are still happening though, just not on the scale they were before. We did adopt out some young guinea pigs this month / last month, and today I get to meet another potential adopter at 10:30 (at the foster home) to see if she is interested in the last of the ones from those litters. We also have a father / son pair of guinea pigs that are available (but have never been listed, in case you're like... "but I've never seen them anywhere!"). I believe we have found a home for them as well, and the person interested in those cuties will be coming by (to the foster home) next Friday to see them. In the meantime, she will get ready.</p><p><br /></p><p>My current worker, Alex, convinced me that he needed to foster some guinea pigs that I was going to add to my waiting list, so I agreed to let them come in, provided they would only be at my place for dropoff. You see, other than my dogs and a lone hamster and non-furry friends, there will not be chinchillas / guinea pigs in this house. Anyway, I spoke with the person wanting to drop off the guinea pigs... these were guinea pigs adopted from NWI back in March-ish...and asked they bring a cage. Now, if you've read this blog for any length of time, you know that I normally still have a cage ready, just in case that doesn't work out, but right now, well... I don't. So, you know they brought the wire for a cage, but not the base... so last night was a bit of a scramble (but I hear it is taken care of). I do have someone else who was interested in some young guinea pigs, so I will give these guys a little bit to settle into their foster home, and will reach out to that person. If, for some reason, she is no longer interested, they will be posted for adoption when the time comes.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the meantime though, with very few animals (and almost none except my dogs and a hamster in my direct care) to worry about, we have been working on unpacking and re-stocking! It's almost funny, because I have about everything I need unpacked to live in the house... and I am in the mode of, "how much do I really need the rest of this crap?" So my to-be-garage-saled pile is growing. Not a bad thing -- decluttering is a good, real thing!</p><p><br /></p><p>With the barn currently unfinished, all of the power tools (aka mess-makers) such as the two miter saws, drill press, sanders, etc... are all out there. The band saw will make it's way out, once we get the new blade put on. Originally, these were all going to be in the house, and we were going to build a shop in the basement, like a dry-walled room... but upon further thought, the "wood shop" -- strictly for cutting and such -- will be out in the barn, and the "workshop" will be in the house. I've taken all of my shelving units, which used to be in the basement of the Hammond house, and they have all been set up in the Chesterton basement, on the workshop side, to hold boxes, supplies, and so on. Also went to Menards and grabbed 6 more shelving units, so I have places to put my own household storage, like holiday decorations and whatnot. So, that's coming along.</p><p><br /></p><p>We've taken a few trips to storage, and probably have at least 1/2 of everything in there, back at the house. We would have more, but without the barn done, there's nowhere to put the chinchilla stuff, so my shed is getting filled with some of that (that somehow inadvertently keeps making its way back to the house), but the large pieces will stay in storage til the end. Plus, of course, the entire semi-trailer full of chin-stuff and cages is still at Jims. But about half of both storage units has been moved, and a decent amount (maybe 1/2 of what's been moved) has been unpacked. Coming right along!</p><p><br /></p><p>In moving things and doing orders, we've had requests for more things, so for example, someone asked about the muncher's delight toys. Well, now that I had a place to put a bag of hay cubes again (if you missed it, the last bag got wet the last time the Hammond basement flooded, so that was trash), so we went to the feed store and bought two bags of hay cubes, and made more of these toys! They are now available on the website. Also, we've put together all the fleece tubes that I currently can, and those are listed on etsy. Those will also be listed on the website (nwichinchillas.com) as soon as I am able, and we are going to get our toys back up on Etsy, as soon as I can get a group picture, so I can do one listing which will include all of them... rather than individual listings, which honestly hasn't worked out so well.</p><p><br /></p><p>And, as more time goes by, and we find more of the supplies that we need for different things, keep an eye out for out herb jars to come back, more of the out-of-stock toys to come back, fleece hanging houses to come back, and so forth!</p><p><br /></p><p>Well, I just heard from the boyfriend that plumbing needs to come out to the house today, so he's going to head over there, as I need to be on my way to Munster, to care for some guinea pigs with Brad, and meet my potential adopter. </p><p><br /></p><p>Hope you all have enjoyed the update -- hopefully will have more to update soon! </p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-88146998080708818442020-09-09T09:33:00.029-07:002020-09-09T09:33:00.158-07:00What Happened with Animal Control?<p> Someone pointed out to me that I never shared what all happened with animal control... at the time, there was a reason for that (and since then, well, I guess I forgot).</p><p><br /></p><p>My court date was scheduled for August 20th, which was a Thursday. I called animal control (AC) the Friday prior to that, knowing that Sue (my <i>favorite </i>ACO ever) would be out of the office and would call me back Monday. Which she did, and scheduled her visit to come out to my house Tuesday. This visit was so that she could verify that all the animals were, in fact, gone, and that I was no longer running a business out of the house.</p><p><br /></p><p>What helped tremendously was that that Monday was the day that the house was scheduled to have pictures taken for it's listing. So, myself, Nikki, and Mike killed it on Sunday patching, painting, cleaning, staging, and organizing everything. Monday, myself and Brad washed all the floors and walls and removed the last couple of things prior to pictures being taken.</p><p><br /></p><p>...and then Tuesday, Sue showed up. I already had the McColly "for sale" sign in the yard, and actually, at that point, already had an offer on the house (without it even being listed yet). So Sue and another ACO came over, verified that I have no animals (I currently have a hamster and Kailey) and said yep, looks like the business is gone. </p><p><br /></p><p>At that point, I had also already put in an offer on a house. If I remember right, the inspection was scheduled, but not yet completed, and I wasn't ready to share with the world that there even WAS a potential house, before I knew that it would stand up to inspection. But, Sue asked if I knew where I was moving, and I shared the info that I had put in an offer on a house and it had been accepted. I talked to Sue some more and she said to try to get to court early so maybe we could get this settled without having to go into the courtroom. Check, would do.</p><p><br /></p><p>The next day, Wednesday, myself and Brad are at my house, weeding and doing outside clean-up, in preparation for the showings later that day, when I get a call from animal control. Sue's calling to tell me that if I give them the address of where I am moving to, that will verify that I'm moving out of the area, and the prosecuting attorney will agree to drop the case. Address given, all that gone and done with.</p><p><br /></p><p>...which, as someone has since brought up, proves that they really didn't care that much about a monetary fine or anything like that, but what they really cared about was just getting rid of me. How nice.</p><p><br /></p><p>... that said, I'm not complaining about there not being a fine. So anyway, that's what happened with AC.</p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-27792589527517541272020-09-07T09:33:00.001-07:002020-09-07T09:33:54.617-07:00Where's the New House? <p>So... since my last post, I've been inundated with emails / phone calls / texts of people asking, where is the new house? What does it look like?? Is it on land??? Is there a barn??? Is it unincorporated?????</p><p><br /></p><p>Well... I'm good at jinxing things. That's why most of this info has not yet been shared, and will not be shared until after closing. Which is still a ways away. Patience is a virtue. Not one that <u style="font-style: italic;">I</u> have, mind you, but I recommend trying it out 😁😆😂</p><p><br /></p><p>What I will tell you is this.... the new place is still technically in northwest Indiana (at least, I consider it to be). It is less than 3 miles off two major roads / highways, so it is easy access for all of the out-of-towners. AND it unincorporated. YAYYYYYYY!!!</p><p><br /></p><p>It does need some work to be done, both minor things inside the house, and more importantly, in the barn. Yes, there is a barn. </p><p><br /></p><p>...and that is all I will say.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-53954680945841144462020-09-03T11:59:00.001-07:002020-09-03T11:59:30.550-07:00Newest Update for You All <p>Since you've all been waiting patiently, I thought I would share with you all that we are moving forward with moving.</p><p><br /></p><p>We have found a house, made an offer, and had that offer accepted...</p><p>AND</p><p>we have listed the Hammond house, had multiple offers, and accepted one of those offers.</p><p><br /></p><p>...and now we wait.</p><p><br /></p><p>After these offers were accepted, next thing was the home inspections. One was done on both the house I am purchasing and the house I own. My realtor and I provided the homeowners with a list of things that we wanted repaired, and I was provided with a list of things that the to-be-Hammond-homeowners wanted repaired in my Hammond house.</p><p><br /></p><p>Most things for the Hammond house are minor --</p><p>(1) the plug in the garage should be changed over to a GCFI plug -- Mike (boyfriend) will do this</p><p>(2) the garage door will be repaired (it was off it's track at the time of inspection) -- a garage door company has already come and repaired this</p><p>(3) low water pressure issues throughout the house would be evaluated by a licensed plumber and repaired -- as I write this, the plumbers are cleaning up after having been here for about 7 hours, re-plumbing the entire damn house with copper lines</p><p>(4) gutters need cleaned -- Brad (worker) will do this, as soon as I borrow a ladder </p><p>(5) furnace will be cleaned / have a maintenance check -- furnace company came and did this last week</p><p><br /></p><p>Other than the plumbing job which is costing a small fortune, the other repairs aren't a big deal. I asked for a bit more major stuff for the home I am buying, such as repairing / replacing a (possibly non-working) furnace (there are two furnaces and two AC's for the house, due to there being an addition), having an electrician come out and fix all the non-grounded outlets in the home (which was most of them), and having the well shocked to eliminate the bacteria. Thankfully, the person who owns that home has agreed to make all the necessary repairs. Yay.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, at this point... we wait. I am working on the repairs on my end -- the garage door was done last week, the furnace was done a few days later, the plumber was here the same day as the furnace guy to get an estimate... and today they were here working on the plumbing. When the plumbing is wrapped up, all that will be left to do here in Hammond (as far as repairs) will be the GCFI outlet and cleaning the gutters.</p><p><br /></p><p>Well... sort of. Let's note, the plumbers were here due to low flow issues on two pipes. One pipe, yes, did have low flow issues. The other area... they said the faucet is bad, and that's why there's low flow. Maybe I can get Mike to throw a new faucet on that sink for me.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would also like to accomplish some minor yard work, cleaning up the backyard, and of course, I still need to remove everything from the house. There's not a LOT here, but there's stuff that I can't be without until the very end... so that stuff will wait, and in the meantime, Brad and I are still churning out orders, and making runs to the storage unit, to stash stuff away.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have (at least temporarily) removed my drill press from Ohio to a friend's shed in Portage, so I can still make those (clearly) beloved hammock shelves that I can't seem to keep in stock, and I'm looking to get a chop saw in the near future, which will probably also be in Portage until I'm able to get into the new place. My friend Colette, who helps sew hammocks / tube covers / hanging houses / etc... she just shipped me a box of hammocks along with some tube overs and hanging houses... those will be listed soon, as soon as I grab some tubes out of storage, to put the covers on. So... until closing, business is more or less as usual here. It's awfully quiet, without all the people coming and going, and it's weird seeing the house so empty... but good things are on the way.</p>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-56273656203028715742020-07-23T13:25:00.001-07:002020-07-23T13:25:58.857-07:00Update Regarding CourtSo, if you've been following along, you know that I was advised to call Sue at Animal Control and set up a time for her to come see the house and verify that the animals and business-related-stuff was gone.<div><br /></div><div>If you've talked with me over the past few days, you're probably aware that I've had a discussion with everyone on the planet about what exactly falls under "business related stuff." Because let's be honest, technically, just about everything can be business-related, if the city wants to be turds. A desk? Oh, well you use that for business. Printer paper? You use that to print out labels... and so on so forth.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, Wednesday (yesterday), I called up Animal Control. Sue was out on a call, so I left a message and they said she would call me back.</div><div><br /></div><div>This morning, I noticed I had a piece of mail (I saw this in my email notification) from the court system. I found that a little odd, but whatever... I saw this when I wasn't at home, so nothing I could really do, and couldn't really look at it til I got home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Took two trips to storage today, and on the way back from the second one, got a phone call from Animal Control. Talked to Sue, and she told me that she can't set up an appointment to come out and verify that the animals and business stuff are gone until closer to the next court date. Wait... what next court date? So I asked, my next court date is August 20th, which is a Thursday, and she said she could probably come out like that Monday prior, to see that everything is gone. She said then, we go to court on that Thursday, and she will tell the judge that yes, everything is gone, and then we will see what the judge says at that point.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's the insane part -- prior to this last court date (a week ago), I point-blank asked Sue, if I have the animals gone prior to court, should I call you, so you can come verify they are gone, so on and so forth? And she was like, no, it won't make any difference, you will need to come to court. Now, she is telling me to do exactly just that! WTF? </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, but it gets better. Because, after all, this is Hammond, let's not forget. I drop off Brad, get home, open the mail from the court. I see the court date is now moved to August 20th, like Sue said... but get this... the reason for the court date extension to 8/20 is due to "defendant's failure to appear." Um, EXCUSE ME? I was THERE! Sue was the one who told me, no, you don't need to go into the court room, call me and we'll schedule the appointment, we are done here. If this isn't trying to set me up to look bad, I dunno what it is. But wtf Hammond???</div><div><br /></div><div>So, now I have my calendar marked to call Animal Control the week prior to court, to talk to Sue about coming out and all of that, and court is set for 8/20. *sigh*</div>Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-19198926748452400242020-07-18T18:52:00.000-07:002020-07-18T18:52:07.362-07:00Doctor VisitSo, this was probably from a week or so now, but it was an interesting moment, so I thought I'd share it with you all.<br />
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My family doctor is a doctor I was referred to when I was in the ER for something... they said, hey follow up with this guy, and I did. At that point, his office was in Hammond, on 174th and Columbia. I wasn't living in Hammond at the time, but this didn't bother me.<br />
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Fast forward a couple years (apparently 2012 I found out), and he and the physician he was working with moved into a Highland office, and added a couple more physicians to the roster. A few years later, the same group of physicians opened a Munster office (which I have now been to, and is very fancy).<br />
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Well, long story short, I needed to go see the doctor to get prescriptions filled and all that jazz, so I was there about a week ago, and this doctor knows I have the chinchillas and supply business and all that... so, as is typical, he asked me how that's all going, with covid and all that. <br />
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So I told him I'm moving, he asked to where... and he reminded me, that he used to be in that office on Columbia. We talked about how Hammond has really gone downhill in the last 10 years (and I don't disagree), and he said said that when he originally started out (80's / 90's), he couldn't afford an office in Highland / Munster, so he got the Hammond office. And originally that was fine, but then he said as time passed, he would get patients referred to him from the hospital and people didn't want to follow up in Hammond... so in 2012, he got the Highland office location (and eventually, a couple years later, the Munster location). He said that since he's moved, he gets more people following up and more returning patients, than when he was in Hammond, and he said he hopes the same goes for me. We talked about how it's one thing to live in an area that isn't the greatest, as you can ignore the neighbors and keep to yourself, but having a business in an area like that is more difficult... and he said he hopes things pick up when I move. I hope so too!<br />
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I had actually kind of forgotten about his Hammond office (though I pass it on the way into Munster all the time, it's four blocks south of here), but this was an interesting convo and sort of a success story in relation to moving to a different location, so I thought I would share it with you all.Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-73598178692948801692020-07-16T13:08:00.001-07:002020-07-16T13:08:12.488-07:00Court Today!So today, at 2 pm, was court for our 5 animal citations. We got there early, about 1:30, and checked in. We were told to sit out in the lobby and the animal control officers (ACOs) would be out to talk to us.<br />
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Sue (the ACO handling my case) and another ACO came out and made their rounds and talked to everyone, wanting to see what the status of the cases were. When Sue came and sat down next to me, she asked if I had all the animals out of the house, and I said yes. I explained that I only had my two dogs and a hamster left, and I said that everything else had been moved out, since I am moving. She remembered that I told her that (about myself moving), and she said that she had talked to code enforcement -- apparently in Hammond, you need a business license to run a business out of your house, and she said that had I <u>not</u> been moving, code enforcement would have issued me a ticket / fined me for this, but with me moving, it's sort of a moot point (glad they think so). I mentioned to her that I have never needed a business license when I have lived anywhere else, and she said well, that's fine, but in Hammond, you do. <br />
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<i>Sidenote (hence why it's in italics) -- I looked this up (about business licenses) on Hammond's City Ordinances, once I got home from court... this would be a mess if I was staying. The businesses have to have set hours, they have to be open for inspection by the health department, police department, fire department, etc etc. If the building where the business is located doesn't meet fire codes, safety codes, etc... it may not be granted a license.... and this goes on to say that a pet related business falls under the category of "other businesses," which requires an additional special permit to operate ($50 fee for permit). It is possible that the location may not be correctly zoned, and if not, sorry, no permit for the animal business. I could go on, but here's a fun zinger -- </i><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i>Each and every operator of a pet shop or cattery must give a bill of sale with each dog. The bill of sale must reflect the approximate breed, color, sex and age, together with a statement as to special conditions regarding sterilization operations and inoculations, if any, and must further show from whom the animal was procured by the dealer, whether by purchase, by his or her own breeding thereof, or otherwise, giving the name and address of the person from whom he or she procured the animal in his or her possession. Each bill of sale must be numbered consecutively and made up in triplicate, 1 copy shall be given to the purchaser, 1 copy shall be given to the Police Department, and 1 copy shall be retained by the seller. On the back of each bill of sale there shall be a diagram showing special markings on the pet sold.</i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212529; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i>I bet this all would have been my "next steps," if somehow I was trying to stay here. How about... no? </i><br />
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Sue and the ACO continued to make their rounds, and we all thought we were ready to go into court, and then Sue came and sat down next to us again. She asked if we rescheduled the court date to August 20th, would I have all the animals gone by then? I think there was a misunderstanding somewhere here, because we went over this same thing about 3 times in a row, but eventually I got across that the only animals here at the moment are the two dogs and a hamster. She made the comment that she would need to come to the house and verify that the other animals were no longer here, and then upon doing that, she would talk to the judge and see if I need to come back to court or not (possibly it could be resolved outside of court?). She said that if the animals are gone, she thought there might be a possibility that there wouldn't be any fines, though she mentioned that that is up to the judge to make that decision. So we shall see. <br />
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She said to call her (and I will Monday) and we'll set up a time for her to come out and see the, well, lack of animals, and we will go from there.<br />
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So, kind of an uneventful day. Never actually "went" to court, just talked to Sue in the lobby of the complex... Until next week when Sue comes to visit!Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-36011493227216089962020-07-14T18:32:00.000-07:002020-07-14T18:32:00.167-07:00Dust? and Other Webstore Listings Did you notice that some of our listings on our website show up as sold out? Or did you now just go look? Yeah, that's cause we're out of dust!<br />
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Well, we have a couple pounds here, but we need it. But no longer do we have enough to sell, and with clearing out the house... dust is not something we want around, cause, well, it's messy! <br />
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So, our listings for dust, as well as the listings that include dust (the care packs and value packs) have been marked as "sold out" for the time being.<br />
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Sorry to all who this inconveniences, but we will not have dust available until after we are done moving.<br />
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At some point, we may need to close the shop entirely, until we have moved... that is yet to be seen... At this current time though, no dust, and also, once we run out of the currently-made houses (and the few more that are cut up, waiting to be made), that will be all of those that we offer for the moment as well. Why? Because if you try to throw a glued wooden house in a sweltering hot storage unit... it will warp. So, we need to get down to only things that can survive storage, and that's not one of them.Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-22815075841392139322020-07-12T18:28:00.000-07:002020-07-12T18:28:02.824-07:00Current Status Update & Ponderings -- part 4So today we're talking about Step 7, which is sort of the final step before everything (here) opens back up.<br />
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Step 7 is getting the house ready for chinchillas. Except, if you have talked with me lately, you know that's, well, not quite the plan. <br />
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The new place is going to have a barn.<br />
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It may not have one, initially, though that would be considerably easier if it did. If there's no barn, then yes, there will be a basement, and initially, chinchillas will go down there. However, as I'm not getting any younger and my back and knees aren't getting any more forgiving of carrying 50 pound sacks of feed down (and bags of trash back up) stairs everyday, if there's no barn, there won't be rescues until there is a barn. Same reasoning -- not hauling in and setting up all those cages downstairs, only to haul them all back up and put them in a barn later.<br />
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Obviously, the barn will be insulated, heated, and cooled for the comfort of our furry friends. It's be great, too, if I even had a generator just in case. But, as I am not a millionare... maybe one thing at a time, shall we?<br />
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Little more about the new place, since I feel like I kind of got away from that, in the post where I talked about the "where" we are moving to --<br />
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It's going to be on a minimum of an acre. Top contenders right now for that are Valparaiso, Crown Point, Portage, Chesterton, and beyond. Note, these are all a minimum of 45+ minutes from here, going east-ish. Think rural-ish for the smaller ones, and farm property for the slightly bigger ones. I have something like 20-ish houses favorited... some of these places look damn neat, and I can't wait to go start seeing houses (and their barns / buildings).... but first, need to keep working on getting this place ready to sell.Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-82017606672386846542020-07-10T18:17:00.000-07:002020-07-10T18:17:20.626-07:00Current Status Update & Ponderings -- part 3So, where are we moving to? Well, we don't know.<br />
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That's the simple answer.<br />
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The long answer is this -- there's a lot to be done, prior to figuring that out. Have I looked at home listings? Well sure. Have I found some dream homes? Sure. Have those dream homes sold the first day on the market? Also sure! <br />
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...but again, not quite there yet.<br />
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If you follow my (personal) facebook, you may have seen that I now have two storage units, and one is packed about to the brim. So, I have been moving stuff out. I somehow managed to snag someone to work for me, amid the pandemic. A high school student named Brad -- he's been super helpful with moving stuff and packing and all that. Anyway, we've been moving stuff out, but before I can do any major cleaning of downstairs, the animals need to go. That's step 1.<br />
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Step 2 is removing the rest of the crap, upstairs and downstais that needs to go out to storage. I'm amazed at how much we've taken already, and furniture we've cleared out... but there's still more! I even sold some furniture, to avoid taking it with me.<br />
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Step 3 is cleaning. I have dogs, so the walls need to be lightly washed, holes need to be patched from hanging pictures, that sort of thing. The stove needs to be cleaned, the fridge, all that fun stuff. The floors need to be washed.<br />
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Step 4 and beyond are less in my control. The house needs to be listed. Once listed, I get to go see all these houses that I have favorited and see if I find one I like, so that...<br />
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Step 5, once the house sells, I hopefully already have one in mind to buy, and can put an offer in on the house.<br />
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Step 6, hopefully the offer is accepted, and I'm able to close on that house within the right amount of closing time, so there's overlap... so I am not "homeless" if my house sells and closes... and I haven't yet bought another. Hopefully there will be overlap so I don't need to worry about that.<br />
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Step 7, getting the new house ready for chinchillas. We'll talk about Step 7 in the next post.Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-67347535441825191142020-07-08T18:14:00.001-07:002020-07-08T18:14:10.584-07:00Current Status Update & Ponderings -- part 2So, where are all the animals?<br />
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Well, right now, I have my two dogs (Kailey and Misty -- the rest are at Jim's), a handful of chins, and a hamster here with me. My guinea pigs, snakes, frogs, and geckos are at my parents' place, and Jim has all the chinchillas, doves, and prairie dogs. The chinchillas will all be gone by this time next week, and the hamster and dogs will remain here with me until the house sells.<br />
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Where did all the animals that were here, go? They got adopted! Other than the currently sold chinchillas, we have one chinchilla (Sybil) in foster care in Iowa, dealing with some health issues... but other than her, everyone here has found a home!<br />
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We stopped taking in rescue chins mid-March or so, so we do now have an extensive waiting list of people wanting to bring their animals in. We have advised everyone... we have no idea how long everything will take. We don't know when exactly we will move, or even, once we get the new place, how long it will be before we can take in animals. But we can add people to the list. And we have been. We've also been referring people to another local rescue that can take in small animals, for those that can't wait.<br />
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Though I don't know (no one does) how long this all will take, I can imagine that by the time we are ready to take in animals, many of the people on the waiting list will have fallen off the face of the earth. And that's ok. The nice part is, we will be starting fresh... all our cages will be empty, so we will be able to take in a lot of animals at once.<br />
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Did you hear that though? We will be starting fresh. We pitched all the shelves and many of the accessories and whatnot that were gunk-ified in those cages. So when we get the new place and get the cages in (which have to be powerwashed and set up), we do have to create completely new set-ups for them. Again, this is why I say, just because we have the new house, that doesn't necessarily mean we will be taking in animals on day 1.<br />
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However, should anyone want to volunteer their time or effort, this will be a great opportunity where we will need help.<br />
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... believe me when I say, I would like to get animals in again... soon.<br />
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The more the impending exodus of the chinchillas comes closer, the more of a "rush" I feel like I am to hurry up and get this house ready to go, so it can be placed on the market and I can find a new place.Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-9719549119436468572020-07-06T18:08:00.001-07:002020-07-06T18:08:41.755-07:00Current Status Update & PonderingsHi all. I see it's been since the beginning of March when I posted last, sorry about that. The pandemic hit, I got hit with the citations for my dogs, prairie dogs, chinchillas, and doves, and decided to pack up and move, and, well, here we are. Lots of things have gone by the wayside, while packing... notably, I haven't written a blog post in forever, but today brought up a lot of interesting thoughts and I wanted to update everyone with where we are and where we're going, and all that sort of good stuff. <br />
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So, rather than make one, super long, super rambling post, I'm going to break this down into a couple of days. I'll post today about one thing, maybe skip a day so you all can get back on the bandwagon as far as reading this stuff, and then post about something else currently going on, until we're all caught up, and I can actually do update posts...<br />
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So, today....why today was a "big deal." If you've talked with me anytime in the last month or so, you know that court was moved a couple times, and now sits at 7/16 (10 days from now). Because court was pushed back, I decided I wasn't going to get the animals out, too too early, and a couple of weeks ago, I said I wasn't bringing any more in. To be fair, I haven't brought rescues in, probably since mid-March. Until about two weeks ago, when I talked to Jim and he oh so casually told me that there was a blue diamond and black velvet that I could sell. Well crud. I hadn't wanted to take any more chins home, and at this point, most of my chin cages were already gone, but I said I would see once I got there. I ended up packing up and bringing home 10 chinchillas (this was about a week and a half ago now). When I put them in their cages, I immediately took pictures, knowing they would need to leave quickly, and I decided on the 12th (this upcoming Sunday) being the last day for pickup. That way, if any remainded, I would have time to get them back to Jim's, prior to court. I had a few people inquiring about chinchillas, so those people got the list of chinchillas and pictures first, and the first two had deposits that day (and have since gone home). Following day (I think), they were listed on my website, a few more people got inquiries, and more got deposits. Today, barely a week from the day they came home, 7 of the 10 have already gone home, and the three that remain have deposits on them and will be picked up this week. As of this morning, I had one left -- a black velvet female. I did have someone inquire about her the night before, and fill out an adoption form. I had emailed them back specifying that she would need to be picked up on or prior to the 12th, but hadn't heard back yet. Well, long story short, they came by today and adopted her. As all the other chins have deposits on them, that means I have brought in the last chinchilla, ever, that will be brought into this house, and also, I have also already sold / pre-sold (with deposit) the last chinchilla I will ever sell (here). Let me tell you, that is a weird feeling! <br />
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...it'll be even weirder when the last chinchilla leaves.Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-59057625256410225582020-03-02T21:35:00.000-08:002020-03-02T21:35:09.251-08:00Foster Chins -- Introducing Henry!Henry is another chin of ours that is currently in a foster home. He is fostered in Chicago. He was not initially a chin that was a candidate for a foster home, as we usually send the problem chins.. .but then he decided he wasn't comfortable here at the rescue, and started losing weight and eating less. Long story short, after moving him to a foster home with more schedule and consistency, he has gained weight, is eating well, and is doing awesome!<br />
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Henry is the chin who's been here the third longest, after only Livia / Miracle and Cheechee. He was born 6/2013, which means he is currently 6.5 and will be 7 years old in a couple months! He is an awesome little guy! <br />
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Because he didn't do well in the busy rescue, we don't believe he'd do well in a super busy household with a lot of kids / pets / things going on. Here's what our foster had to say about him<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: center;">Henry is a very vibrant and energetic chinchilla. He loves to cuddle and play outside his house with his humans in a safe play space. He’ll need to go to a home that has the time and energy to devote to him and he’ll require a chin spin (wheel) for his extra energy. Since he seems to love human interaction, I’ve found that he is happiest when at the very least I give him scritches when I walk by and spend a few minutes with him on a consistent basis. He’s really good at begging for attention with this super adorable face (he wins 9 times out of 10)! He’s been good with children 7 and up.</span><br />
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And of course, some recently updated pics of him below!<br />
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Henry is available for adoption for $65 during our current sale. This guy wants a nice home of his own... is it you??<br />
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Ashley Gajdahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15513556630212818403noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7899222505286979770.post-86992901544386041592020-02-29T21:23:00.000-08:002020-02-29T21:23:05.112-08:00Foster Chins! -- Introducing Livia & MiracleHi all! Our longest chins here at the rescue right now are a pair of chins in a foster home -- Livia and Miracle. They have been here the longest... by a bit actually. On our Petfinder account, we are able to see how long ago we listed chinchillas... Livia and Miracle have been listed for 7 months... the next longest chinchilla has been only listed for FOUR! (that's Cheechee, for anyone wondering). And while Cheechee still chilling here for a bit makes sense, due to her winning personality (hahahaha), Livia and Miracle still being here doesn't make sense. <br />
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Let me tell you why.<br />
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Livia and Miracle are a mother / daughter pair of chinchillas. They are both hetero beige chinchillas, with mom being a furchewer. We know that Miracle (the daughter) was born in April 2017, which means she will be upcoming on 3 years old soon! Unfortunately, Livia (mom)'s age is unknown. Here's the sad thing... based off my notes, this pair came in in April, so come April 2020... this pair will be here for a year. Come on, no one wants to take them home?<br />
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We were initially told that Livia occasionally bites... but our foster home said this is not the case and only got minorly nipped once, on the first day. Why do we mention this? Because we are transparent and don't hide things, the way others might. <br />
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These girls are fostered in Iowa, but they can be brought back to our rescue for adoption, or adopted out directly from their foster home. They are very sweet girls and enjoy playtime and chilling in their cage. Want to know more? Their listing is on our website, on this page -- <a href="https://www.nwichinchillas.com/available-chinchillas-1">https://www.nwichinchillas.com/available-chinchillas-1</a> and of course... photos below (showing up kinda odd for me, sorry)! <br />
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These girls are available to adopt for $200, and that will drop down a bit more during our upcoming sale (shh, you didn't hear it from me).<br />
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